Review: Homeland Season 4 Finale

To begin with, I must add the necessary disclaimer… SPOILER ALERT. If you watch Homeland and have not yet seen the Season 4 finale, stop here. Go no further… I don’t want to ruin it for you. Now that that’s out of the way…

If you follow me on pretty much any social media site, you’re probably aware that I absolutely love the TV show Homeland. It also happens to make me a little crazy. Heck, the show itself is crazy. Cliffhangers, people dying, all-around crazy things happening. But it all makes for great TV watching.

After last season’s finale, I wasn’t even sure that I would like the show anymore. One of the reasons I watched the show was because of how much I liked the character of Brody. Sure, he had his issues, but he was just fascinating to watch. I know some people hated the romance aspect of it when he and Carrie got involved, but I honestly loved it. So when he died, I wasn’t quite how the show would go on, or how interested I would be in it after that. But, the writers of this show just know how to develop characters, almost as well as they know how to throw twists at you. So I continued to watch.

Back to this season. Homeland has proved that the death of Brody most certainly was NOT the death of Homeland. This season has been full of intense action, wonderful character development (there are plenty more people to care about than just Brody, I’ve learned), and plenty of twists and cliffhangers. Which is why, I think, so many people seem pretty upset that the season finale was not nearly as full of all of that as most of the rest of the season.

I, for one, liked the season finale. Again, I know a lot of people weren’t into the Carrie/Brody romance, but I was. Sue me, I’m a bit of a romantic sometimes. So when all of the UST between Quinn and Carrie this season (and even from last season) finally culminated in the season finale, I was a happy girl. But of course, it’s not that easy in the world of Homeland. No one ever gets to just be happy. Especially not our main girl Carrie. In fact, I think she’s feeling pretty sad and lonely at this point. Brody is dead, her dad just died, Quinn ran away and is virtually unreachable, and now Saul has seemingly betrayed her. What’s a bipolar CIA agent to do? I guess that’s what we’ll find out next season. (Ugh, and WHY must these seasons be so far apart? Next October is just too far away!)

There are a lot of complaints about how the season finale was nothing like the rest of Season 4 and didn’t fit in at all. But I like it. And I think I get it. Homeland has always been mostly about Carrie. She’s a fascinating character, whether you like her or hate her. The season started off with her coping with Brody’s death, and ended with her dealing with the events of this season. And even when it’s not always about Carrie, Homeland is a very character-driven show, with intensely developed characters. No one lives a life of constant action, and it’s not really an action show. So the season wound down with how the characters handled all the action in their lives in Pakistan. I think it was a great ending, and (contrary to the end of last season) I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what’s next for Carrie in Season 5.